1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image-forming method for printing images by using sublimable dye ink, and a print medium and a sheet cartridge for use in the method.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, dye sublimation printers capable of printing color images on print media by using sublimable dye ink include two types, i.e. a thermal sublimation printer and an ink-jet type sublimation printer. The ink-jet type sublimation printer carries out printing by ejecting sublimable dye ink onto a print medium having an ink image-receiving layer formed on a surface thereof for receiving sublimable dye ink, and then heats the print medium to sublime/diffuse the droplets of the sublimable dye ink ejected onto the print medium, thereby forming an image. The ink image-receiving layer of the print medium is laminated on a surface of a medium body of the print medium by coating the same in the form of a layer.
However, in such a conventional image-forming method using the above print medium, since the laminated ink image-receiving layer has a surface identical in width to that of the medium body of the print medium, when printing is effected on the whole surface of the print medium from edge to edge (i.e. when so-called edge-to-edge printing is effected) by the ink jet printing method, ink droplets are liable to be deposited even on the end faces of the print medium. As a result, the print medium subjected to edge-to-edge printing is provided in a state of its end faces being stained unintentionally, which causes user discomfort. Apparently, it is possible to avoid this problem if the edge portions of the surface of the print medium are not used for printing. However, in this case, the unprinted edge portions are conspicuous for absence of a background color, which diminishes the value of the print medium as a product.
It is an object of the invention to provide an image-forming method which is capable of properly carrying out edge-to-edge printing on a medium, such as a card, without staining the end faces thereof, and a print medium and a sheet cartridge for use in the method.
To attain the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an image-forming method comprising the steps of:
printing an image on an ink image-receiving sheet by using a sublimable dye ink, thereby causing the sublimable dye ink to be held by the ink image-receiving sheet;
fixing the image in a surface of a medium body by heating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid to each other and thereby causing diffusion of the sublimable dye ink held in the ink image-receiving sheet in the surface of the medium body for color development; and
removing the ink image-receiving sheet from the medium body having the image formed thereon,
wherein the ink image-receiving sheet is larger in size than the surface of the medium body.
According to this image-forming method, when an image is printed on the print medium, the sublimable dye ink is impregnated into the ink image-receiving sheet and held in the same. Then, heating of the print medium in this state causes evaporation and diffusion of the sublimable dye ink from the ink image-receiving sheet deep into the surface layer of the medium body as migration particles having sizes at a molecular level, and color development to form an image thereon. Then, the ink image-receiving sheet is removed from the medium body to expose the surface of the medium body, whereby a highly durable medium body having the image formed thereon is easily provided.
Further, the ink image-receiving sheet capable of temporarily holding the sublimable dye ink is slightly larger than the medium body, so that by carrying out printing on an area slightly beyond the size of the medium body, print image can be transferred properly onto the whole or edge-to-edge surface of the medium body in the step of fixing the image.
In this connection, it is preferred that a lamp light source formed e.g. by a halogen lamp is used for heat treatment carried out in the step of fixing the image.
Preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet has a separator affixed to a surface thereof, for protection of the surface, and the image-forming method further including the step of peeling off the separator before the step of printing.
According to this preferred embodiment, since the ink image-receiving sheet keeps the separator on the printing surface thereof which serves as an image-receiving surface for receiving the sublimable dye ink, until printing is effected, it is possible to protect the printing surface of the ink image-receiving sheet properly until execution of the step of printing. Further, when print media are stored in a state stacked one upon another, it is possible to prevent an ink image-receiving sheet from sticking to another medium body, which facilitates management of the print media.
Preferably, the medium body has a fluorine film layer laminated on a surface thereof.
According to this preferred embodiment, when the ink image-receiving sheet is heated, the sublimable dye ink held in the ink image-receiving sheet passes through the fluorine film layer, followed by being diffused and fixed in the surface layer of the medium body. Then, after the ink image-receiving sheet is removed, the image fixed in the surface layer of the medium body is protected by the fluorine film layer as an outermost surface layer thereof. As a result, the image is properly protected by the fluorine film layer functioning similarly to a laminating film. At the same time, the surface of the medium body becomes not only weather-resistant, light-resistant, heat-resistant, rub or abrasion-resistant and chemical-resistant, but also glossy due to characteristics of the fluorine film layer.
Preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet is peelably affixed to the surface of the medium body.
According to this preferred embodiment, a print medium can be provided in a state of the ink image-receiving sheet laminated on the surface of the medium body thereof. This makes it possible to prevent the ink image-receiving sheet from being displaced from the medium body and hence to subject the print medium in a stable fashion to the step of printing and the step of fixing the image. Further, it is possible to peel the ink image-receiving sheet off the medium body with ease in the step of removing the ink image-receiving sheet.
More preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet is formed of a material which is made easy to peel off by heating.
According to this preferred embodiment, the ink image-receiving sheet overlaid and affixed to the medium body can be easily peeled off after being heated in the step of fixing the image. Therefore, the ink image-receiving sheet can be easily peeled off the medium body in the step of removing the ink image-receiving sheet. However, it cannot be peeled off easily before being heated, and hence it is possible to prevent degradation of ease of handling of the medium body and the ink image-receiving sheet.
More preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet is continuous with respect to a plurality of the medium bodies.
According to this preferred embodiment, a single ink image-receiving sheet is affixed to surfaces of a plurality of medium bodies in a manner covering the medium bodies. Therefore, the plurality of medium bodies can be collectively provided by a single unit. It should be noted that the plurality of medium bodies may be affixed to the single ink image-receiving sheet with predetermined spaces provided therebetween.
Further preferably, the plurality of medium bodies are integrally formed in a state separable from each other along cutting lines.
According to this preferred embodiment, since the plurality of medium bodies formed as a single unit can be easily separated from each other by being cut off or punched out along the cutting lines. Accordingly, this method is advantageous particularly in batch processing which is carried out by subjecting the plurality of medium bodies as a single unit to the step of printing and the step of fixing the image.
Preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body are formed separately, and the image-forming method further including the step of overlaying an ink-holding portion of the ink image-receiving sheet to the surface of the medium body and affixing the ink image-receiving sheet to the medium body.
According to this preferred embodiment, when an image is printed on the print medium, the sublimable dye ink is impregnated into the ink image-receiving sheet and held in the same. Then, the ink-holding portion of the ink image-receiving sheet impregnated with the sublimable dye ink is properly positioned and overlaid to the medium body. Further, when heat treatment is carried out in this state, this causes evaporation and diffusion of the sublimable dye ink from the ink image-receiving sheet deep into the surface layer of the medium body as migration particles having sizes at a molecular level, and color development to form the image therein. Then, the ink image-receiving sheet is removed from the medium body, whereby a highly durable medium body having the image formed thereon is easily provided.
Further, the ink image-receiving sheet capable of temporarily holding the sublimable dye ink is slightly larger than the medium body, so that by carrying out printing on an area slightly beyond the size of the medium body, print image can be transferred properly onto the whole or edge-to-edge surface of the medium body in the step of fixing the image.
More preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet is rolled out from a roll thereof.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to easily manage the ink image-receiving sheet as well as to carry out continuous printing on the same.
Further preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet has a separator affixed to an image-receiving surface thereof, for protection of the surface, and the image-forming method further includes the step of peeling off the separator before the step of printing.
According to this preferred embodiment, the ink image-receiving sheet can be wound into a roll while causing the separator to impart appropriate rigidity thereto. Further, until the sheet is subjected to the step of printing, the image-receiving surface thereof can be properly protected, and sticking of a back surface of the sheet in a roll to the ink-receiving surface can be prevented, which further facilitates management of the ink image-receiving sheet.
Further preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet removed from the medium body is taken up.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to easily manage the used ink image-receiving sheet. Further, the used ink image-receiving sheet can be discarded in the form of a roll.
Further preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet has a separator affixed to an opposite surface thereof to an image-receiving surface thereof, for protection of the image-receiving surface, and the image-forming method further including the step of separating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid and affixed to each other from the separator, after the step of overlaying and before the step of fixing the image.
According to this preferred embodiment, the ink image-receiving sheet having the separator affixed to the opposite surface thereof to the image-receiving surface thereof is wound into a roll with rigidity imparted thereto by the separator. In this case, first in the step of printing, an image is printed on the image-receiving surface of the ink image-receiving sheet with the separator affixed thereto, and then the medium body is laminated on the ink-holding portion of the image-receiving surface. Thereafter, the ink image-receiving sheet having the medium body affixed to the ink-holding portion thereof is separated from the separator, whereby the image-forming process can proceed to the step of fixing the image. It is preferred that either the ink image-receiving sheet or the medium body is coated with an adhesive.
Still more preferably, the separator which has been separated from the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body is taken up.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to easily manage the used separator which is no longer needed for imparting rigidity to the ink image-receiving sheet. Further, the used ink image-receiving sheet (separator) can be discarded in the form of a roll.
Preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body are formed separately, the ink image-receiving sheet having a separator affixed to an image-receiving surface thereof, and the image-forming method further including the step of overlaying the medium body to an opposite surface of the ink image-receiving sheet to an image-receiving surface thereof and affixing the medium body to the ink image-receiving sheet, and the step of separating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body from the separator, before the step of printing.
According to this preferred embodiment, first, a medium body is overlaid and laminated on the opposite surface of the ink image-receiving sheet to the surface (image-receiving surface) thereof having the separator affixed thereto, and then the ink image-receiving sheet having the medium body affixed thereto is separated from the separator to subject the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body to the step of printing. In the step of printing, when an image is printed on the ink image-receiving sheet, the sublimable dye ink is impregnated into the ink image-receiving sheet and held in the same. Then, heat treatment carried out in this state causes evaporation and diffusion of the sublimable dye ink from the ink image-receiving sheet deep into the surface layer of the medium body as migration particles having sizes at a molecular level, and color development to form the image thereon. Then, the ink image-receiving sheet is removed from the medium body, whereby a highly durable medium body having the image formed thereon is easily provided.
Further, the ink image-receiving sheet capable of temporarily holding the sublimable dye ink is slightly larger than the medium body, so that by carrying out printing on an area slightly beyond the size of the medium body, a print image can be transferred properly onto the whole or edge-to-edge surface of the medium body in the following step of fixing the image, without staining the end faces of the medium body.
More preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet is rolled out from a roll thereof.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to easily manage the ink image-receiving sheet.
Further preferably, the separator which has been separated from the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body is taken up.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to easily manage the used separator which is no longer needed for imparting rigidity to the ink image-receiving sheet.
More preferably, the ink image-receiving sheet is formed of a material which is made easy to peel off by heating.
According to this preferred embodiment, the ink image-receiving sheet overlaid and affixed to the medium body can be easily peeled off after being heated in the step of fixing the image. Therefore, the ink image-receiving sheet can be easily peeled off the medium body in the step of removing the ink image-receiving sheet. However, it cannot be peeled off easily before being heated, and hence it is possible to prevent degradation of ease of handling of the medium body and the ink image-receiving sheet.
Preferably, the medium body has a fluorine film layer laminated on a surface thereof to which the ink image-receiving sheet is overlaid.
According to this preferred embodiment, when the ink image-receiving sheet is heated, the sublimable dye ink held in the ink image-receiving sheet passes through the fluorine film layer, followed by being diffused and fixed in the surface layer of the medium body. Then, after the ink image-receiving sheet is removed, the image fixed in the surface layer of the medium body is protected by the fluorine film layer as an outermost surface layer thereof. As a result, the image is properly protected by the fluorine film layer functioning similarly to a laminating film. At the same time, the surface of the medium body becomes not only weather-resistant, light-resistant, heat-resistant, rub or abrasion-resistant and chemical-resistant, but also glossy due to characteristics of the fluorine film layer.
Preferably, the medium body is a card.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to carry out so-called whole surface or edge-to-edge printing on a card properly, so that even when a card having a predetermined thickness is used, deposition of ink on the side faces thereof can be prevented. In short, it is possible to easily produce a card excellent in print quality and abrasion or rub resistance.
Preferably, the step of printing includes printing by an ink jet printing method.
According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to print a clear image to the edges of the medium body while properly preventing ink droplets ejected by the ink jet printing method from being deposited on the end faces of the medium body. Particularly in color printing, the ink jet printing method is more advantageous than the thermal sublimation printing method using ink films of the three primary colors, in that it is possible to reduce ink usage and increase printing speed as well as to obtain an image with high resolution.
To attain the above object, according to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a print medium comprising:
a medium body having a surface; and
an ink image-receiving sheet larger in size than the surface of the medium body;
the print medium being used in an image-forming method comprising the steps of:
printing an image on an ink image-receiving sheet by using a sublimable dye ink, thereby causing the sublimable dye ink to be held by the ink image-receiving sheet;
fixing the image in the surface of the medium body by heating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid to each other and thereby causing diffusion of the sublimable dye ink held in the ink image-receiving sheet in the surface of the medium body for color development; and
removing the ink image-receiving sheet from the medium body having the image formed thereon.
According to the second aspect, it is possible to provide a print medium suitable for the above image-forming method.
Preferably, the print medium of the second aspect configured to have an identical member-lamination structure on both of a front surface side and a back surface side thereof, such that images can be formed on both of the front surface side and the back surface side thereof.
According to this preferred embodiment, the print medium can be used for double-sided printing. More specifically, by removing ink image-receiving sheets from the upper and lower surfaces of the print medium, respectively, and exposing the opposite surfaces of a medium body of the print medium, it is possible to provide the medium body subjected to double-sided printing.
To attain the above object, according to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheet cartridge for use in an image-forming method, the image-forming method including the steps of:
printing an image on an ink image-receiving sheet rolled out from a roll thereof, by using a sublimable dye ink, thereby causing the sublimable dye ink to be held by the ink image-receiving sheet, the ink image-receiving sheet being larger in size than a surface of a medium body and formed separately from the medium body,
overlaying an ink-holding portion of the ink image-receiving sheet to the surface of the medium body and affixing the ink image-receiving sheet to the medium body,
fixing the image in the surface of the medium body by heating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid to each other and thereby causing diffusion of the sublimable dye ink held in the ink image-receiving sheet in the surface of the medium body for color development,
removing the ink image-receiving sheet from the medium body having the image formed thereon, and
taking up the ink image-receiving sheet removed from the medium body,
the sheet cartridge comprising:
the roll of the ink image-receiving sheet;
a supply reel for rolling out the ink image-receiving sheet therefrom;
a sheet take-up reel for taking up the ink image-receiving sheet rolled out; and
a single cartridge casing accommodating the roll of the ink image-receiving sheet, the supply reel, and the sheet take-up reel.
Similarly, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheet cartridge for use in an image-forming method, the image-forming method including the steps of:
printing an image on an ink image-receiving sheet rolled out from a roll thereof, by using a sublimable dye ink, thereby causing the sublimable dye ink to be held by the ink image-receiving sheet, the ink image-receiving sheet being larger in size than a surface of a medium body, formed separately from the medium body, and having a separator affixed to an opposite surface thereof to an image-receiving surface thereof for receiving an image of the sublimable dye ink,
overlaying an ink-holding portion of the ink image-receiving sheet to the surface of the medium body and affixing the ink image-receiving sheet to the medium body,
separating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid and affixed to each other from the separator,
fixing the image in the surface of the medium body by heating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid to each other and thereby causing diffusion of the sublimable dye ink held in the ink image-receiving sheet in the surface of the medium body for color development,
removing the ink image-receiving sheet from the medium body having the image formed thereon, and
taking up the separator separated from the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body, the sheet cartridge comprising:
the roll of the ink image-receiving sheet;
a supply reel for rolling out the ink image-receiving sheet;
a separator take-up reel for taking up the separator removed from the medium body; and
a single cartridge casing accommodating the ink image-receiving sheet, the supply reel, and the sheet take-up reel.
Similarly, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheet cartridge for use in an image-forming method, the image-forming method including the steps of:
overlaying a medium body to an image-receiving surface of an image-receiving sheet formed separately from the medium body, the image-receiving surface being for receiving an image of a sublimable dye ink, and affixing the medium body and the image-receiving sheet to each other, the ink image-receiving sheet being larger in size than a surface of the medium body, having a separator affixed to an opposite surface thereof to the image-receiving surface thereof, and being rolled out from a roll thereof,
separating the ink-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid and affixed to each other from the separator,
printing an image on the image-receiving surface of the ink image-receiving sheet, by using the sublimable dye ink, thereby causing the sublimable dye ink to be held by the ink image-receiving sheet,
fixing the image in the surface of the medium body by heating the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body overlaid to each other and thereby causing diffusion of the sublimable dye ink held in the ink image-receiving sheet in the surface of the medium body for color development,
removing the ink image-receiving sheet from the medium body having the image formed thereon, and
taking up the separator separated from the ink image-receiving sheet and the medium body,
the sheet cartridge comprising:
the roll of the ink image-receiving sheet;
a supply reel for rolling out the ink image-receiving sheet;
a separator take-up reel for taking up the separator removed from the medium body; and
a single cartridge casing accommodating the roll of the ink image-receiving sheet, the supply reel, and the sheet take-up reel.
The sheet cartridge of these aspects make it possible to easily manage the ink image-receiving sheet whether it may be unused or used. More specifically, the cartridges make it easy to handle the ink image-receiving sheet for transport or storage. Further, after the ink image-receiving sheet is used up, it is possible to replace the sheet cartridge with a new one, thereby readily providing a new ink image-receiving sheet.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.